Tom Pidcock assures that he is going for the Tour de France, does he have options in the overall classification?

Tom Pidcock has his sights set on the Tour de France. The British rider faces a season full of commitments and raises the stakes in the French round, although he assures that it is still too early to set a specific goal. In addition, he admits that he has learned from the mistakes of the past edition and feels more confident for the coming year.

Pidcock thinks big: the ambition to achieve a great result in the 2024 Tour

The Tour de France is the dream of any cyclist. Despite the fact that Tom Pidcock has been blessed with superb talent -which has allowed him to taste success on the mud of cyclocross, the dirt of MTB or the asphalt of the road- getting to Paris with a great result is a big deal. The question hangs in the air whether he has the qualities required to be inscribed in the pages of the world's most important race.

Pidcock raised the curtain on the cyclocross season last weekend with a double performance: second place in the X2O de Herentals and victory in the Namur World Cup. The winter campaign is actually a parenthesis in which he prepares for his real goal: the spring classics and a summer in which he will sweat more than usual with the Olympic appointment.

Now, in statements to Sporza, he spoke about the Grande Boucle. The Briton declared that "I want to test myself in the Tour".

Despite a discreet performance in the last edition -thirteenth in the general and no stage victory- he assures to have learned from the mistakes they made: "Last year I didn't really know what I wanted or what the team wanted. I didn't have a clear goal and I paid the price for it. I came home with nothing".

In his fourth year with Ineos Grenadiers, he will seek to achieve a good result in his third Tour. Pidcock wants to raise the bar, although it may still be too bold to think about wearing the yellow in Paris. The truth is that far from detailing what the challenge to be met in the next French round will be, he prefers to be cautious and wait a little longer to reveal his aspirations.

"This year I want to focus fully on the general classification. To be among the top 10? That's not really my motivation". In addition, he adds that "my goal will be clearer after some stage races at the beginning of the year".

A few weeks ago, the rider's coach from Leeds, Kurt Bogaerts, was a bit more explicit in statements to GCN. "It would be good to progress compared to this year. Being among the top five and winning a stage with the general contenders. It would be a healthy ambition. If you can ride among the top five, then you are close to the podium".

In addition, he stated that "in my opinion, his 2023 Tour de France was better than the first, he just lacked a stage victory, but his overall progression was better".

On the other hand, Pidcock showed confidence in his future performance in the Tour. "I believe in myself more than last year, but I won't be able to specifically say what my goal is until later".

The dazzling stage victory in Alpe d'Huez in 2022 in the first Tour he raced is a memorable one.

Finally, Pidcock reiterated that he will not start in the Tabor CX World Championship. "It will be a long summer with the Tour and the Olympics. Doing a cyclocross World Championship so late is difficult". Thus, he concluded that "I want to enjoy the Christmas period and prepare for the road season".